I have a 2012 olive pro angler. It was the only color offered by the dealer at the4 time other than yellow. At first the yellow did not appeal to me. Now i wished i would gotten a brighter color. Had an incident on a lake a few weeks ago where i almost got creamed by a bass boat going about 50mph. If i had to guess he came within 20 feet of hitting me. Had my visi carbon with flag up as well as a white long sleeve shirt. I know the olive isnt the safest but maybe it was just bad luck that day..? Any of you guys peddling a olive PA and had same problem. Thought about selling mine and finding a used yellow PA instead of buying new one so i dont spend alot of extra money. Thanks

I've had a Red Adventure Island, and a Red Revolution in the past. We now have a Yellow Oasis. We bought the yellow because it was on sale as it was the previous model year. I do like Yellow for visibility compared to even the red boats, but it's not worth trading your boat for.

I was on my Bravo the other weekend with 20 foot tall mast and a bright coloured sail with a safety yellow shirt on, and I had a very similar experience to you.

There are times, where boat traffic is very high that I'm glad that I have the Yellow, but in a lot of ways, you're just as safe on your Olive boat. You are now aware that you're tough to see on the water. People in a yellow boat might assume that their boat is visible and therefore they are safe. Safety is often up to the user, not the boat.

Flags are great, but they are also very small. I do find that a very bright shirt is helpful, (more than the white shirt that you mentioned) You want something that stands out. Sometimes motor boats will claim that they saw you, but don't think to give you more room. Waving your arms with a bright coloured shirt can often direct them further away from you.

Is yellow more visible? Yes. But is it safer? Who knows. Now that you have your boat, I wouldn't bother selling it just for a new colour, but I do hear your concerns.

My PA is the older olive, almost brown. I thought that might have been a contributing factor to power boaters nearly running me over, but since then I've had it happen in a red boat sporting a 16 foot mast with a sail on it. I think size and stealth (coupled with the idiots in the other boats) have more to do with it than color.

I have hit on a semi-solution, however. I bought one of the small air horns powered by a small can of compressed air. Once a boat gets within 150 to 200 feet of me under any serious power I let them have it with the horn. The few I've had to use it on so far make a very quick turn away when I hit them with the horn. It seems to be more effective than a flag, reflective tape or arm waving.

I think the brighter the color, the better, but it will not fix inattentive boaters. Some people will run you over regardless. Consider that if something bad does happen on the water, yellow is easier to see than olive, from a SAR perspective. Orange is better than yellow - I do wish Hobie would offer their orange as a color option. Have your whistle (or manual fog horn) handy...

My PA12 is dune. My sail is blue/silver. I also wear some high-vis orange when in boating waters. High up on my list of options is the Yak-Attack Visi-Carbon Pro light and flag. I'm also carrying a small air horn in my milk crate.

My PA12 is dune. My sail is blue/silver. I also wear some high-vis orange when in boating waters. High up on my list of options is the Yak-Attack Visi-Carbon Pro light and flag. I'm also carrying a small air horn in my milk crate.

Carry the air horn on you or keep it right next to you because a boat barreling down upon you will give you no time to rummage through your crate. You can even clip it to the back of your seat or keep it in your PFD's front pocket.

My PA12 is dune. My sail is blue/silver. I also wear some high-vis orange when in boating waters. High up on my list of options is the Yak-Attack Visi-Carbon Pro light and flag. I'm also carrying a small air horn in my milk crate.

Carry the air horn on you or keep it right next to you because a boat barreling down upon you will give you no time to rummage through your crate. You can even clip it to the back of your seat or keep it in your PFD's front pocket.

Very good point! Thanks. I wish there were a few more slots molded in to the hull for small items .. and a spot to hold a cold beverage! Maybe RAM makes a gimbled adult beverage holder for rail mounting

I like the idea of having an air horn handy. I didn't have any problems in Season Number One with my yellow kayak. I have a bright orange PFD. And I wear bright colours normally. My husband only had one guy in a fishing boat not notice him until he was pretty close. Luckily this happened in a narrows with a bend, and so the motor boat had to be going slow to make the sharp bend and also avoid the hidden rocks.

Safety should always be the first consideration. I'm going to add a small air horn to the kayak. I bet you could attach a peel and stick velcro anywhere (dry and clean yak of course) and then the complementary velcro to the base of the can.

Love it.

_________________Arctic MermaidLife is just one big Exploration. Enjoy!